Toilet package



M. B. CANNON.

TOILET PACKAGE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25, I919.

1,346,441 at t d uly 13, 1920.

attonuq ill TED ST- T E S F A. T E

T OFlE.

TOILET PACKAGE.

LddtiAdi.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 192d.

Application filed July 25. 1919. Serial No. 313,189.

To all whom, it may concern:

lie it known that T, lWERVIN B. CANNoN, a citizen of the United States,and residing at Cincinnati in the county of Hamilton and State offilhio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Toilet Packages,of which the following specification is a full disclosure.

My invention relates to toilet articles, consisting of a. paper toweland a cake of soap together. Its object is to provide a product of thischaracter adapted to be conveniently dispensed from a vending machine.It preferably comprises a sanitary package of soap and one or more papertowels, the towels, as a wrapper and protection covering for the soap,suitably folded over the soap into a cylindrical package and firmlybound, to constitute an article of manufacture and product for a vendingmachine.

The features of my invention will be more fully set forth in thedescription of the ac companying drawings, forming a part of thespecification and illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,and in the drawings like characters of reference denote correspondingparts throughout the several views, of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the sanitary package in cylindricalform.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the towel partly folded.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the towel further folded with the soapthereon preparatory to wrapping.

*ig. l is a longitudinal section on 4-4 of Fi 1, enlarged.

he towel, preferably a sheet of absorbent tissue, is folded upon itselfand coiled into a cylindrical package, preferably so that none of itsraw edges are exposed or free, which otherwise may render easy tearingof the tissue or interfere with the dispensing of the package froma'vending machine.

lit is desirable to have the packages each firmly coiled and incondition to retain its cylindrical form and size when stacked one uponanother in a magazine or holder of a vending machine in order .to besuccessively discharged from the machine.

Referring to the drawings, the towel, a single or plural number ofrectangular sheets 1, is preferably folded upon itself by folding twoopposite end portions 2, 3, as quarter sections upon the intermediateportion, bringing the opposite edges of the sheet adjacent each otheralong a central or longitudinal line, as shown in Fig. 2. A longitudinalfold, to reduce the width of the package, is then made, following alongthe central line, along which the first folding operation has broughttwo of the sheet edges. The strip of the width thus formed is thenfolded upon itself crosswise, preferably 1n unequal portions, so as tooffset the second set of opposite edges of the sheet, as shown in Fig.2, to reduce the length of the strip and bring a third edge 4: inward orintermediate, thereby forming a padded or cushion-like wrapper composedof several plies or layers of the folded towel. After the towel has beenfolded as described, the small cake of soap 5, flat and rectangular inshape, or it may be of any other desired shape, is placed upon thefolded towel, and

l the towel is firmly coiled or folded over the soap, the free raw edgesof the towel sheet inward, to produce a cylindrical package 6, as shownin Fig. 1a A band or sealing cover 8 is then applied over the coiledtowel merely for firmly retaining the towel in its folded or coiledcondition, for convenient handling in a vending machine.

The coiling or wrapping of a folded tissue towel around the soapfurnishes a protection padding for the soap, preventing the breaking ofthe soap when the package is dispensed from a vending machine withoutthe necessity of any further inclosure or wrapper.

The soap and towel thus packed form a convenient, small, extremelyeconomical sanitary package for individual toilet service, with noprotruding or exposed free.

sheet or towel edges liable to engage or catch in the mechanism of avending machine, thus not interfering with the operation of themechanism of the vending machine which must be relied upon forsuccessively advancing and discharging the packages, one by one, fromthe magazine of the vending machine.

The paper which I prefer to use is known in the trade as crape paper, apeculiarity of which is not only its relative softness and readycapacity for absorption, making it, as is well known, well suited for aneconomical towel material; but a substantial degree of plasticity owingnot only to its softness but to its finely wrinkled conditionthroughout. My invention takes advantage of this property of such paper,when used,

to cause the paper to conform itself around the soap piece placed aboutmidway of the package length, as shown and described; not only huggingthe piece of soap closely where 5 it passes therearound, but at the endsof the soap piece, Where the plasticity of the paper results incompressing the latter, under firm rollin or wadding pressure, withinthe limits 0 the soap piece length, while the elasticity of the papercauses those parts of it nearer the package ends to press radiallyinward, substantially close together. This results in retaining the soappiece against endwise escape from the package, 5 without any specialretaining means in the package ends or any special roughening or otherspecial fastening located at the soap piece or thereon. Moreover, whilethere is this departure from the normal volute of the towel windinginteriorly of the package,

the plasticity of the material and its consequent compression around thesoap at the middle and expansion into the spaces at the package ends,results in the exterior shape 5 of the package being substantiallycylindrical. And this result is obtained even though the soap cake benot of equilateral cross section, but fiat as here shown.

I Also, owing to this property of the towel material, it is susceptibleto very firm package formation, capable of holding its shape when piledin a vending machine and when subjected to the rubbing and impactsincident to ejection therefrom. Material of a 5 non-textile or non-wovenmanufacture, such as paper, is preferred, because textile or woven towelmaterial, to be as absorbent as is desired, is necessarily of such anopen and loose texture as to be liable to entangling in the machineparts, andin general is not adapted to make as firm a package as paperor the like. Such woven materials as may have these desired properties,however, come within the scope of my invention, in that they will becapable of making up a dispensable package without the necessity of anyspecial or further wrapping, carton or the like; and, when containing asoap cake or other article shorter than the package, will so conform atthe ends as to retain this article without the need of any specialarticle retaining means.

By my invention, therefore, I am enabled to produce a packageconsisting, except for 65 the securing means, such as the binding tapeherein exemplified, of only the articles intended for use, viz: in thepreferred example, a towel and a small cake of soap. Ex-

treme economy is thus possible, not merely in the use of paper for thetowel, as is well known heretofore, but in dispensing with the use ofany great amount of extraneous wrapping or inclosing material, whichwould cost about as much as the articles used and which is merely thrownaway and is not only a loss but becomes just so much additional litteraround the wash-room or other place Where the packages are dispensed.

It will be seen, therefore, that my invention makes possible theindividual dispensing of the economical towel at a cost not out of dueproportion to the towel itself; and in addition, to furnish therewithsufficient soap for a thorough washing of the hands and face, withoutadding disproportionately to the cost of this soap supply.

This extreme economy thus distinguishes the present invention from anymere wrapping of soap and towel together with an extraneous wrapper orcarton or similar device either for conserving the package shape orretaining the soap. This novel package is especially adapted, due to thepeculiaritiesmentioned, for automatic formation by machinery, as well asvery rapid formation by hand, if required. The minimization ofmaterials, whether these be more or less expensive in themselves,together with the minimization of effort required to form the package,reduces the total cost far below that of any package of similarcharacter heretofore produced, and makes, for the first time, so far asI am aware, a possibility of mechanical dispensing of such articles at acost in attractive proportion to the value thus received.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, with the aid ofa specific example, and having fully disclosed its most advantageousmode of use, as is required, I do not wish to be understood as beinglimited to the precise examples of construction and mode of use hereingiven, but what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

l. A package comprising an article, and a wrapper of crape paper or thelike, having suflicient inherent rigidity to produce a firm package,said paper being of a width greater than the article length, rolledrepeatedly around said article with its convolutions overlapping thearticle ends and suitably secured in its article inclosing condition,whereby said wrapper retains said article by virtue of the normalcontraction of its convolutions at the article ends incident to the firmrolling of the wrapper around the article, and the nature of the paper.

2. A package comprising a piece of soap and a wrapper of crape paper orthe like having suflicient inherent rigidity to produce a firm package,said paper being of a width greater than the soap length, rolledrepeatedly around said soap with its convolutions overlapping the soapends and suitably secured in its soap inclosing condition, whereby saidwrapper retains the soap by virtue of the normal contraction of itsconvolutions at the soap ends incident to the firm rolling of thewrapper around the soap, and the nature of the paper.

3. A towel package possessing diminutive size, inherent rigidity andreadily dispensable shape,which comprises crape paper toweling formedinto a long narrow piece, and then formed into a plurality of tightlycompacted convolutions transverse the long piece, into a cartridge likeform, and tape mounted around said formed package intermediate its endsto retain the compact condition, said paper having a nature permittingthe formation of an inherently rigid roll of substantially cylindricalform in spite of the exposed end at the outside of the roll, therebyadapting it to the reception of a circumferential tape and to readymechanical dispensation, and having the further nature of beingutilizable as a towel when unrolled after an extended period offormation into the said package form, and said paper being of a sizesuitable for toilet towel use. l

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name, as attested by the twosubscribing 25 witnesses.

/ MERVIN B. CANNON. Witnesses -M. L. BARRON,

L. A. BECK.

